ECF Chair and Director of the Istanbul Foundation for the Arts (IKSV) Görgün Taner was interviewed by Barçın Yinanç for Hürriyet Daily News about the role culture should play in Turkey and more widely.

I was just in Athens. Even there, the mayor allocated a building free of charge to the Athens Biennial so that it could take place. He said: “Culture will transform us. We aren’t doing this for city marketing, we are doing this so we can overcome this chaotic situation through art and culture.”

Art and culture is the transformative power that we need, especially in our current situation where everyone complains about the inability to communicate. Dialog can be constructed easily through art and culture. We aren’t saying that we should push all these problems aside and talk only about art and culture. We are simply saying that we should delve into these issues together with cultural people.